Largely as a result of AIDS pandemic which is particularly evident in Africa, palliatives and/or cures have been sought by all research groups world wide. In Africa and more particularly in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association (ZINATHA) and local scientists have long believed that naturally occurring substances extracted from various medicinal plants have the required properties to the control and/or provide cures of HIV, cancers and other diseases.
To further their belief, ZINATHA entered into an agreement on Nov. 22, 1992 with the Developmental Therapeutics Program (DTP) Division of Cancer Treatment (DCT) of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the United States of America, whereby ZINATHA and NCI would collaborate in the evaluation of medicinal and other Zimbabwean plants and ZINATHA would supply to NCI such plant specimens and extracts as ZINATHA considered likely to have and/or contain active principles which could be extracted for structural elucidation and for clinical trials. Following upon this agreement, one Peter M. Mashava, (Ph.D.) of the University of Zimbabwe, undertook the task of investigating certain preferred specimens, notably B. speciosus. Using standard procedures, he isolated an active principle which he designated as "PMZ-1".